Sears and Jiminez began to herd the crowd back to the door. Dr. Hiro Taki lagged at the back of the group, as did Dr. Yakamoto. The men didn't seem to know each other. In fact, they seemed to make a point of not knowing each other. It was a subtle nuance that would have gone unnoticed by anyone other than Remo and Chiun.
Remo didn't know how he knew the men were acquainted. It was something instinctive. His suspicions were confirmed when the men just for a moment-locked eyes. Dr. Taki offered a single nod. Yakamoto's face showed a flash of horror before turning away.
"See?" Chiun said. "Do you see why my father always said never trust a son of Nippon?"
"Was he trying out for the role of Korean Archie Bunker?" Remo said dryly.
Unseen by the Mayanans, Remo had kicked off one shoe to test the surface underfoot. It was as frictionless as the walls. Without their special boots, even he and Chiun might have fallen. He slipped his loafer with its boot back on.
When he glanced up he saw that Chiun had padded farther ahead. The old man had caught up to Toshimi Yakamoto. Leaning in, he whispered something to the Japanese scientist.
Yakamoto responded with shock. The color drained from his sweating face. He hustled away from the wizened Korean, forcing his way through the group of visitors and out the gate.
"Do I want to know?" Remo asked once he caught up to his teacher.
"It was nothing that you do not already know," Chiun replied. "I told him that the Japanese as a people cannot be trusted and that I know he is up to no good. And look, see how he runs like a frightened rabbit when confronted by the truth. Pitiful. The one thing these Japanese had was pigheaded bravery, and Western subversion has robbed them even of that. I blame the French."
Leaving his pupil on the Vaporizer deck, he flounced out of the gate to remove the special boots from his sandals.
Remo tipped his head, considering. "Now, there's some racism I can finally support," he said, nodding. He followed the others out the gate.
Chapter 10
Toshimi Yakamoto ran.
Fear slowed his legs. His lungs burned, his brain sang a symphony of panic.
The old man knew. Somehow he knew.
He hadn't been specific. But those penetrating hazel eyes said all that was unspoken. He knew the truth.
The Korean had spoken Japanese. It was unlikely that anyone would have understood had they even heard, but the fact was, Yakamoto had been found out.
It was no wonder.
Toshimi Yakamoto had no business being here. He was a scientist, not a spy. But he was a scientist who had been there at the start. The real start, not this bastardized Mayanan version of it. He understood the nuts and bolts of what needed to be done and so-despite his protestations-had been drafted kicking and screaming into this project.
But now it was done. He had been found out. Mind swirling, he ran out of the Vaporizer compound and through the hurricane fence.
He passed colleagues whom he had worked with for nearly a year, as well as other workmen from the project. He ignored all their smiles and hellos, shoving through them.
Another tour bus was coming up the road from New Briton. The driver had to lay on the horn as Yakamoto darted out in front of it. The bumper nearly nicked him. He felt the exhaust breeze as he made it to the other side of the road.
Passengers watched the little man in the white lab coat running like a maniac from the Vaporizer site. The bus continued up toward the cluster of buildings as Yakamoto ran down into the lower parking lot.
He found his Toyota, fumbling his keys from his pocket. He dropped them to the gravel drive, knocked them behind a tire and scraped his palm clawing them back out. Keys rattling, he unlocked his car and fell inside.
He hunkered down in the back seat. His injured hand found his cell phone in his coat pocket. With shaking hands he pressed out the special number.
The phone was answered on the first half ring. "What is it?" the deep voice demanded in Japanese. A demon's voice, rumbling up from some low circle of Hell.
"I have been discovered!" Yakamoto blurted. As he spoke, he glanced in fright around the parking area. There was no one else there. He expected them to come any moment. He sank farther in on himself, trying to melt into the seat.
"Explain," demanded the man on the phone.
In a voice bordering on hysterical, Yakamoto whimpered out the details of his brief confrontation with the visiting Korean scientist.
"What exactly did he say?" the man on the phone demanded once Toshimi Yakamoto was finished. "He said I was untrustworthy and that I was up to no good," Yakamoto pleaded.
There was a pause. "And?" the voice asked. Yakamoto felt his breathing coming under control. His head was clearing. Somehow actually repeating the words of his accuser out loud made them sound not quite so damning.
"He said Japanese eyes were funny," Yakamoto said.
"In other words, he said nothing specific except to insult your nationality?"
Yakamoto was thinking much more clearly now. His brow furrowed deeply. "I suppose not. No, he did not."
"You became panicked for nothing," the man on the phone said. "This Korean merely saw a Japanese and automatically became envious. It is not uncommon. After all, Koreans spring from a pool of envy. It is in their nature, for they all wish they were Japanese. Who can blame them?"
Yakamoto was feeling much better. He wiped some sweat from his face with the cuff of his white lab coat. "Do you really think so?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course. From what you say, he did not accuse you of anything specific, nor did he speak to your supervisor. He did not even threaten to do so or to go to the Mayanan government. You misinterpreted this Korean. That is easy enough to do. Their mouths form words funny."
Dr. Yakamoto didn't mention that the old Korean spoke flawless Japanese. He was just relieved that the man on the phone was not yelling at him for wasting his time.
"I am sorry to have panicked," Yakamoto apologized.
"Never mind," the deep voice said. "This is not your field. As long as you have called, have you spoken with Dr. Taki yet? We have gotten him in as consultant to the prime minister. It was the best way to get him into Mayana without arousing suspicion. He should be in New Briton by now."
"No," Yakamoto admitted. "He must have just arrived. He was in the group that just came up from the airport. The same group with the old Korean."
A sharp intake of angry air. "What do you mean, the group that just came from the airport? Your confrontation with this Korean, when did all this happen?"
Yakamoto felt the fear rising again. Different now than the fear of discovery. It was fear of a man who held the power to hire and fire.
"Less than five minutes ago," he admitted guiltily.
The low voice rumbled deeper. "You are not calling from a secure location?" the man demanded. This was one of the most important security details that had been drilled into Toshimi Yakamoto. He was to find call-in sites where he was least likely to be monitored. Public places were not perfect but were preferable. Parks and the rest rooms of restaurants and bars were good. Not his car and not his apartment, since they could be bugged. And the one place over all others where he was never, ever to call from was the Vaporizer site itself.
"I am... that is- The Korean frightened me."
"Tell me, Toshimi Yakamoto, that you are not at the site of the Wayanan device," the deep voice said.
"There is no one else around," Yakamoto blurted. "The parking lot is empty. And the people who saw me run down here did not know why I was running." There came a few seconds of angry snorting on the other end of the line, like a bull getting ready to charge. When the voice spoke once more, it was a growl of barely controlled fury.